


The Bond of Rider and Steed

by Okami_no_fude



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: Epona’s perspective, No beta readers, Re-imagination of the Twilight Princess Manga scene, Some mentions of past injury, Spoilers for Twilight Princess Manga
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-18 22:08:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20646434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Okami_no_fude/pseuds/Okami_no_fude
Summary: A retelling of a scene in Twilight Princess Manga, but through the eyes of a certain loyal steed of Link’s.The TP manga is owned by Akira Himekawa.





	The Bond of Rider and Steed

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been reading the Twilight Princess Manga made by Akira Himekawa sensei, and I read the part where Epona and Link reunites, and I wanted to write in Epona’s perspective. Some of the dialogue in here has been translated in my own words for this fic. Heavy spoilers for Twilight Princess manga volume 3.
> 
> Legend of Zelda rights belongs to Nintendo.  
The manga rights belongs to Akira Himekawa, and I am not writing this for a profit.

She was feeling lost.

It was cold and dark around here, with no sight of her Rider, her companion. There was so much confusion happening when their village had been attacked, and she lost sight of both her caretakers when the darkness came. She wandered aimlessly around the eerie fields of Hyrule, trying so hard to find her rider.

_ 'Link, where are you? why have you not called me? Are you...' _

No, she did not want her thoughts to go in that direction. Her Rider, her friend, her Link was strong. She could still feel the bond that they had together, even though it felt faint and a little...darker than before, which worried her slightly. 

_ 'Please Link, I am worried...give me a sign or something!' _

Only silence answered her.

_ 'Please guardian spirits of Hyrule, anyone who can hear my pleas, show me the way to Link!' _

** _'Young mare, you wish to aid the hero chosen by the goddesses?'_ ** _ _

Epona was a bit startled when someone whispered back to her. It was a bit odd to hear one of the light spirits that looked over Hyrule to actually answer her pleas when she rarely heard from them. and Link being a hero chosen by the goddesses? What?

'I do not know when or how Link became chosen by the goddesses, but I just want to reunite with my dear rider! Hero or not, I will always want to stay by his side and help him!'

A bright light suddenly engulfed her, and she neighed in surprise as she felt the ground beneath her changing.

**_'Go forward young mare, and greet the hero. May you and your rider be successful against the oncoming enemies that you will encounter in the future'_** she heard the voice echo all around her. 

She then felt it. The strong pull that she had with her rider.

He was close. 

With a burst of speed that would make any animals jealous, she galloped toward the end of the light, water splashing under her hooves as she rushed out. 

Link was there.

She could see her rider had a shocked look on his face before it morphed into a big smile.

"EPONA!!"

Her rider began running toward her, and she galloped to meet him.

_ 'Link!' _

Her rider had a completely different outfit than before, but she did not care for Link's change of wardrobe as she nuzzled into his face as he hugged her, chanting her name fondly.

"I really wanted to see you so badly...I'm so...glad!" he whispered to her, his blue eyes a little teary as he stared into her eyes.

_ 'I missed you too, dear rider.' _

Her ears perked up as she heard a door creaking open in the distance, and reared her head toward the direction she heard it, making her rider turn toward where she was staring. 

"Colin!! Talo!!" she heard her rider cry out in joy as they saw two small figures stepping out of the building. It was the two of the small children from their village. As annoyed she was at one of the young children, she was still glad that they were safe, as she knew they had a special place in her rider's heart.

However that happy reunion was cut short as she felt the ground tremble, then soon after heard an odd rumbling sound coming from the mountainside of the road.

Kicking up massive amounts of dust were big armored boars with ugly-looking monsters mounting them. 

They were plowing toward the children.

"Shit, it's those guys!" she heard her rider growl at them, causing her to look at him. He was baring his teeth, eyes narrowed, and his blue eyes were gleaming fiercely. 

He almost looked like a predatory beast.

Link quickly mounted her and murmured to her. 

"Epona, I need your help in defeating the monsters. Can I count on you?"

_'Always, my dear Link,'_ she snorted out, readying herself for a fight.

"Let's go!" she felt her rider spur her as they rushed toward the monsters that were manhandling the children.

With quick maneuvering, Link had pulled her to a stop as she saw the boar who held two of the children tumble to the ground, a limb missing courtesy of her rider slicing it cleanly off.

She stood her ground as the lead monster stared at them.

**"What are you boy...?"** She heard the monster speak rather intelligently as it squinted toward her rider before its eyes went wide.

**"You, I swear I had killed you...How...!!"**

What!?

Epona was furious when she heard the monster exclaim those words. They tried to kill Link, her rider?! 

She stomped her hooves in anticipation of giving a nice kick to these guys. No one hurt her rider without facing the consequences!

She felt her rider leading her toward the exit of the village, as he shouted "I'll be your opponent, get to the fields!" 

She rushed out of the village, and she could feel the ground trembling as the boars rushed out after her and her rider. 

Once out on the field with nothing but open fields of grass in sight, Link had tugged her reins a little to start engaging combat with the large axe-wielding monster. She couldn't hear much of the conversation over the roaring of hooves pounding the fields and the clash of metal above her, but she could feel her rider's rage and determination through their bond. It fueled her determination as well, as she galloped on.

She heard something break above her, but she knew it wasn't from their side as the boar had backed off from her side a bit. She could see that the armor had been cracked off.

_ 'That's my strong rider!' _ she snorted proudly.

Epona was a bit nervous when her ears started to pick up the whistling noises and the clinks of metal hitting the hard ground, the telltale signs of arrows being shot at them, but she still plowed on, the ferocity and the determination of her rider encouraging her to keep her head cool and look straight ahead. The arrows soon stopped when the head monster had grunted at his underlings that it would deal with them by itself.

Following her rider's lead, Epona galloped after the lone leader onto a rather narrow stone bridge with no railings on either side. 

She realized what this was.

A high stakes, one-on-one horseback duel. 

She could feel the tension in the air, as their opponent spewed out their rant that the world was run by strength, good or evil not mattering, and that Link was weaker than the monster. She wanted to snort out loud at that, but she refrained as she heard Link speak up. 

"Strength...what is it. Wielding power and tormenting, crushing, and destroying the defenseless people to satisfy your greed, is that truly strength?"

Epona could sense her rider gripping his sword tighter with that.

"I, I will not allow any of my precious people be hurt any more!! To protect your precious people until the very end, that is true strength!" he declared. Epona agreed, holding her head high as a feeling of pride blossomed in her chest. 

"This left arm that was cut off by you, is wanting to  **strike you down!** "

Epona let out a war cry alongside with her rider as they thundered down the bridge and toward their approaching enemy who was raising its axe.

She could hear the clang of metal on metal as her rider and the monster clashed blades before disengaging as the steeds passed each other. 

Epona's instinct screamed at her to leap as she passed, and she did. Not a moment too soon as she felt the telltale swing of the axe swiping beneath her hind legs, taking a good chunk of the stone floor with it. 

She almost lost balance as she felt one of her hooves meeting air at the edge of the bridge, but she held fast. She was just as determined to win this duel like her Link was, even if their opponents utilized underhand tactics.

She put all her strength that she could muster and rammed into the boar , and held her ground as they both went into a standstill. She could hear Link yelling encouragements for her to hold on. She was not going to fail her rider!

She quickly backed off as she felt her reins being tugged backward, and the axe fell soon afterward where she was just moments ago raising clouds of dust as it slammed into stone. 

"Ready Epona?" she heard her rider whisper, and Epona snorted.  _ 'Yes!' _

She ran forward once again, feeling Link vaulting off her back to deliver a devastating slice. As soon as she felt her rider back on again, she quickly changed directions to let Link deliver the finishing blow to the prone enemy on the boar's back. Victory was within sight!

However she realized that both her and her rider was anticipating the ending blow too early.

Epona let out a loud neigh as the monster maneuvered the boar's tusks under one of her forelegs and scooping it up, forcing her to raise on her two hind legs. 

She heard a scream from behind her, along with the familiar weight disappearing from her back.

_ 'No! Link!!!' _

She managed to regain her balance safely on the bridge, but her Link was clinging precariously at the edge of the stone bridge with one hand. Epona could spy his fingers were slowly slipping as gravity pulled him down. The monster was peering down on Link, taunting him that it would spare Link's life if he begged for mercy. She knew her dear rider would refuse such a thing from a vile beast.

Epona quickly maneuvered over as she saw the monster raising its axe to bring it down on Link's fingers. 

_ 'Not on my watch, you ugly bastard!!!' _ she cried out and delivered a fierce double kick to the boar that the monster was on, sending it off balance.

_ 'Now Link!' _

Her heart soared with joy as Link leaped and flipped upwards, his sword biting through the neck of the monster through its armor. The monster had left some words to her rider as it tumbled down and disappeared into the inky darkness of the ravine, but frankly she did not care. Her Link was safe and sound! They have won! 

She quietly approached her rider who was staring down at the ravine and gave him a soft nudge. 

_ ' I'm glad you are safe, my dear Link,'  _ Epona let out a small wicker as Link patted her cheeks. 

"Thank you, Epona," she heard him quietly whisper.

_ 'Anything for you my rider, I will always protect my precious people.' _


End file.
